Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma acknowledged that he always looks forward to opportunities to face Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. The two were first-round draft picks in 2017, and both have been mentioned in possible trades with the New Orleans Pelicans in recent weeks. (Photo by John McCoy, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

PHILADELPHIA — The Lakers’ young core versus the Celtics’ young core? Kyle Kuzma isn’t ready to weigh in on all that.

But him versus Jayson Tatum? The second-year forward leaves no ambiguity on the subject.

“I don’t know about everybody, but I always try to take that challenge with Tatum on every single game,” he said Thursday night in Boston. “Obviously he went higher than me in the same draft class. Me, I think I’m better than everybody, that’s just my mentality, how I approach things, and I look forward to playing guys who were drafted ahead of me regardless, not just him.”

The subject is part barstool debate, part serious business: For the past few weeks, players from both clubs have been reduced to line items in potential trades for New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis, who could be traded this summer. The Lakers and Celtics are expected to be at the front of the line when talks can renew again after the season, thanks in large part to their young players.

The core commonly discussed in any Lakers deal is Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball – all were reportedly offered as part of a package for Davis during the frenzied attempt to get a deal done before the deadline. Boston’s counteroffer – one the Celtics can’t issue until this summer thanks to a league rule involving player contracts – could involve a mixture of their young players, including Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier.

Many observers have identified Tatum, the No. 3 pick in the 2017 draft, as a potential trump card for the Celtics this summer, should they choose to offer him. After a ruthlessly efficient rookie season in which he shot better than 43 percent from 3-point range, Tatum’s percentages have fallen off a bit, but he’s still averaging 16.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. At a slim 6-foot-8, he’s seen as one of the league’s best offensive prospects.

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Tell that to Kuzma, putting together an impressive sophomore campaign himself at 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He acknowledged that he takes the slights as motivation, and he spent a good chunk of the game jawing back and forth with his draft class peer (Kuzma was selected No. 27 overall).

The end result was an interesting basis of comparison: Kuzma had 25 points, five rebounds and two assists on 10-for-21 shooting. Tatum had 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting, with 10 rebounds and five assists.

There was a moment with 18 seconds left in the game when Kuzma hit a go-ahead 3-pointer. Afterward, he said he had promised Tatum he would take advantage of any opportunity he got.

“Well, I was really glad I hit that shot,” Kuzma said. “I told my buddy Tatum that if I got a look I was gonna get it, and I did, so I don’t look dumb.”

Down the Celtics roster, Rozier (19 points) and Brown (18 points) had solid scoring nights, giving the Boston bench a decisive advantage in the game.

Ingram didn’t light it up scoring-wise, but he contributed to the discussion with his performance on defense. Despite shooting just 4 for 14 on the night, he helped the Lakers outscore the Celtics by 18 when he was on the floor, the second-best plus-minus rating on the team (Tyson Chandler led with plus-19).

Coach Luke Walton lauded Ingram for his effort, but the highest praise came from the man he spent much of the night defending, Kyrie Irving.

“Being guarded by Brandon Ingram most of the game, I can’t even lie to you guys, those guys on the defensive end are unusual,” he said. “Driving lanes that I see against every other team, they were closing down the lane.”

After a week of comparisons, it might be nice for the young Lakers to know the competition is taking note of them, too.

JAMES CLOSER TO FULL STRENGTH

Anything LeBron James could have said about his health was dwarfed by one play on Thursday night: a dunk off an alley-oop from Ingram that hasn’t been in his repertoire for a while.

For the past few weeks, Walton has joked that he hasn’t seen James doing tomahawk dunks in practice. But that kind of feat in a game seems to stoke confidence that the 34-year-old is just about fully healed from his strained groin, which has consumed nearly a month-and-a-half of his season.

“Yeah, as the game went on, I started to get more and more back to myself,” he said. “Every possession and every quarter, every time I take a hit, and I’m able to nudge it off and keep going.”

The Lakers mostly trashed a loss in Indiana on Tuesday, but in the third quarter of that game, Walton said he had seen signs that James was starting to turn a corner.

“I kind of had a feeling he was starting to feel good physically,” he said. “And he had that look on his face from shootaround on all day long that he was ready to have one of these big-time performances that he’s had so many of, and we needed all of it tonight.”

Kyle Goon covers the Lakers for the Southern California News Group. Before taking his talents to Los Angeles, he worked for The Salt Lake Tribune for eight years, covering everything from high school rodeo to the Utah Jazz. Gregg Popovich once baptized him by fire in a media scrum.